Using lentils to reduce blood glucose levels
Replacing potatoes or rice with pulses can lower blood glucose levels by more than 20%, according to a small trial that further supports the idea these low GI foods are important for the management of type 2 diabetes.
The authors say that swapping out half a portion of these starchy foods for lentils can significantly improve the body's response to the carbohydrates.
Their results show that replacing half a serving of rice with lentils caused blood glucose to drop by up to 20%, while replacing potatoes with lentils led to a 35% drop.
Using a crossover design, two groups of 24 healthy adults randomly consumed 50g available carbohydrate from control white rice alone, instant potato alone, or the same starch source in a 50:50 available carbohydrate combination with each of three types of commercially available lentils (large green, small green, split red).
Fasting and